"New Testament Christological Hymns" by Matthew Gordley. A Review

New Testament Christological Hymns: Exploring Texts, Contexts, and SignificanceNew Testament Christological Hymns: Exploring Texts, Contexts, and Significance by Matthew E. Gordley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are passages in the New Testament that have a credal feel to them; stanzas that have a texture and tone that seems to lend itself to song. Matthew E. Gordley, dean of the College of Learning and Innovation at Carlow University, examines these portions in his newly released 252 page paperback, "New Testament Christological Hymns: Exploring Texts, Contexts and Significance". It is a mildly specialized manual, but is accessible to most perceptive and thoughtful readers.

In "New Testament Christological Hymns" Gordley explores several "hymnic passages" in detail. His aim is "to provide a comprehensive, comparative, and exegetically informed analysis of New Testament christological hymns in light of their cultural, literary, and theological contexts" (11).He begins by giving the genealogy of New Testament hymnic studies, appreciatively interacting with the critiques. He then moves on to examine hymns in the Greco-Roman world, as well as in Judaism, how they were used, and the narratival functions they fulfilled. Not only is this a valuable historical recollection, but the portion on resistance poetry was rather intriguing.

In chapters three through six, the author spends serious time scrutinizing Philippians 2.5-11, Colossians 1.15-20, John 1.1-18, Hebrews 1.1-4, several segments in Luke and Revelation. Gordley dialogues with numerous scholars who see these passages as hymns and those who don't. He walks through the structure of the passage, as well as what the paragraph was meant to do. With each "hymn" the author also looks for internal indications that might give any indications on early Christian worship.For me, one of the most thought-provoking aspects of the author's analysis was on these hymns being resistance (anti-imperial) poetry. Though I think the writer may be overstating the case, nevertheless it got the wheels in my head turning.

"New Testament Christological Hymns" is a worthwhile volume. I spent several Sunday evenings reading it, not only for the informative aspects, but in a devotional way. Whether you agree with the author's conclusions or not, you will gain a deeper appreciation for each of these passages, and see in them details you have missed. You also may find your heart getting strangely warmed as you delve into the purpose and point of each New Testament section. I highly recommend the book.

Thanks to IVP Academic for sending me a copy of this volume for the review. I sought, and they provided. I asked and they gave. I knocked and they opened the opportunity for me. They made no demands, other than that I give my honest review. And that is what is set before your eyes.

You can easily snag a copy of the book here: "New Testament Christological Hymns"

View all my reviews

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?" (Rev. Ed.) by John Fea. A Review

Image
  John Fea is a professor of history at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, PA. A university founded in 1909 by the Brethren in Christ Church. He originally published "Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? A Historical Introduction" in 2011, and it was revised in 2016. This 328-page paperback is packed full with Colonial and American history, drawing from original sources to answer that question. It is a book written "for the historically minded and thoughtful reader who is looking for help in sorting" out this question, avoiding polemics (xix). Since we live in a sound-bite culture, Fea recognizes that it is difficult to have a sustained dialogue on this topic, but he makes a valiant effort toward having that sustained dialogue. The book reads fairly straightforward, and doesn't seem to get bogged down in the contentious mudpuddles or bogs. In the end, Fea seems to get his point across. To answer the reigning question if America was founded as a Christian...
Read more

Union with Christ - An Application

Image
  (This was my weekly letter to my congregation on Wednesday, 21 February 2024) This morning in my devotional reading, I was working through 1 Corinthians 8. Though I’ve read these words a huge number of times over the years, today one verse caused me to stop and take stock.  Paul wrote, “ Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ ” (1 Corinthians 8:12). What struck me is a couple of things. First, in God’s saving work, we are – by grace alone – united (hitched, bonded, ingrafted) to Christ so much so, that what happens to us happens to him, and what is his becomes ours (think of Galatians 2:20, for example). As Sinclair Ferguson put it, “through union with Christ all that is his by incarnation becomes ours through faith” (“The Christian Life,” 110). Let that percolate in your heart for a while. Your fear, anxiety, tears, and so forth, he feels. And his “ Peace, be still ” is yours. Second, the way we treat one an...
Read more

"Ah, Lord! We are Animated by Anger and Anxiety, Fear and Fury..."

Image
I hesitate to put this out there because of the combative environment we are in at present. But I think some souls will take courage from this, and some will also join with me as we get to the end of this little composition. I am struck by the words of God in Zechariah 8. As he rehearses the waywardness and faithlessness of his people in the past, he clearly declares that he " set every man against his neighbor " (8:10). That got me thinking long ago. I started putting the pieces together and realized that one of God's acts of judgment is division, setting a man against his neighbor. That's what happened when he divided his people into the northern tribes and southern tribes (see 1 Kings 11:26-40). Because of Solomon's turning aside, allowing his wives to turn his heart away from the God of his father, David, the Lord brings about a rift in God's people. And this pattern of divisive judgment runs throughout Scripture. On the other hand, truthful unity is the g...
Read more